Farok! The (Canteen) Man!

Not going anywhere: Farok (left) has spent most of his life at Penang Free School, first as a student and then as a canteen stall operator for 36 years now.


MOHD Farok Ibramasa has seen several principals and teachers come and go during his time at the topnotch SMK Penang Free School in Penang.


No, he is not a part of the academic staff but actually one of the school canteen stall operators for the past 36 years, which is no ordinary feat.

A former student of the school, he has not left the grounds of the institution during this period, except for a few years in an attempt to further his studies and to also find another type of job.

“I tried to further my studies and also work elsewhere for around two years but I did not like to be bossed around so I decided to start my own business,” said the 61-year-old.

“Actually, this stall that I am manning now was owned by another businessman but he was from Kuala Lumpur and he had businesses there. He wanted to return to Kuala Lumpur so he passed his stall to me and I have been manning it ever since,” said Farok whose father also managed one of the stalls at the same canteen in 1930.

“He took charge of one stall for two years but left soon after and ventured into other businesses,” he said.

Canteen work is not smooth-sailing for Farok, a father of five, as there are phases when he does not earn enough.

“We have to be able to adjust ourselves to the lives of the students in order to survive. Our business will peak at the start of the new term but when it comes to the mid-term holidays, our business will slow down.”

It is not all doom and gloom as there are advantages to it as well, said Farok.

“We can at least know what to expect from our income as it is constant most of the time as the school intake of students is almost the same each year.”

An outgoing person who loves fishing with friends and watching football, Farok said he would be retiring once all of his children begin to work.

“I do not regard this business as a family business. I do not see my children taking over the business as they are heading into fields such as engineering, information communication technology and medicine.”

Asked about his fond memories, he said that it must be the students who came back to visit him.

“After many years, it is touching to see them coming back to visit and catch up with me, especially with one student who is like my own brother.

“He went to study overseas but after years of not communicating, he still remembers me and drops by to visit me whenever he is in town,” he said.

Original Story
Facbook Page

Another Free Has left us.

Today, on the 28th of November 2010, we bid farewell to Tun Dato' Seri Dr. Lim Chong Eu who was the second Chief Minister of Penang and also an Old Free.

On Wikipedia

On the Star

Speech Day 2004

Recruitment Drive - Back in 2004

Welcome to recruitment drive or RD 2004! Suddenly found old Ed Board stock pictures while I was digging through my old files.
So, as you all know, PFS is a school for scholars, sportsmen and gentlemen.
It is also home to some of the best societies and clubs!
So, every year, all Frees will congregate and welcome the new comers, or first year students.
Sample of first year students.
Clubs and societies will demonstrate their martial arts.
While teachers will also join in the activities.
This is one of the time of the year which you get to tan your belts!
and play a lil dress up. Because, when you come for RD,
you knew that something big awaits you.
From the size of things, you are sure that your friends put in loads of effort and dream big.
When the eyes of 2000 Frees are watching,
You want every drum, every trumpet to roar.
Making sure every knot, every stick was in the right place,
making every effort to impress,
this is one day of the year, where ancient skill merge with art and the modern world.
We do it not because it is easy. I mean, who would spend one month building a model ship just for the fun of it?
Well, there are the Frees who would do it just to know we can,
and there are those Frees who do it just for the fun of it.
There are also those who do it because they want to succeed, and they know that nothing can stand in their way!
Of course, holding an RD is not an easy feat. To ensure that everything is in perfect order,
you have to make sure you prepare. Those were the days when we spent the nights in the century old school. Sleeping under the blanket of starlight.
Like the ships we build, the waves of time seem to erode a tradition long gone.
And so we think of the days that were.

Mirror Mirror on the wall

Dear readers,

Sorry about the long absence, it is finally the end of the Summer Break for me.

Last month, I stepped into Penang Free School after almost being away for 5 years now. Was curious how things have changed in the school. What better way than to see with my own eyes.

As I drove into the school compound, I was greeted by the guard who had no problem letting me in. I told them I was an Old Free and was back to meet my old teachers.

The school is a little better in terms of infrastructure:

1. The school is fenced up in brick walls so that no, you don't have to break wires to ponteng, just literary pijak and lompat pagar.
2. The teachers now have shaded parking spaces. Thank god. I measured the temperature of my car before in the Penang sun. 60 degrees Celsius on a normal day. There is even a shade extending from the school pond to the school building. Good shelter for those rainy days.
3. There are mirrors on every corner of the school. What better way to tell someone, look in the mirror. They were not small mirrors you get in the school toilet. No, they were this huge ass full length mirrors! Hope it helps!
4. The teachers now have a 5 start toilet next to the office. Wow, now this brings meaning to sitting on the throne.
5. The canteen now has permanent benches stuck to the floor. I dont know what logic it is but at least some money was spent there.
6. The pond area has about a dozen new pondok bacaan for students to hang.
7. There is this absurdly huge badge facing the road.

So, as I walked into the school. The first teacher I met was none other than Mr Ho Nean Chan. Discipline Teacher and scout master extraordinaire. How five years in PFS will change someone. So, he ushered me into the discipline room where he lives with Mr Lim Ah Seng.

I said to him, "So Sir, how's my son?" and we laughed. He told me that many Old Frees came back often, once in a while, most with very very long hair and all sorts of funny antics.

But our meeting was short lived as he was kinda busy. I followed him for a while and it was obvious the female teacher there was uneasy with one of the kids. Ah Seng took out his big rotan and we headed to the Principals office.

Woot... got to witness kids getting whacked. I guess some of you felt that before. Raw discipline. Did not get to know what happened but En Ramli, the headmaster looked serious.

Next was my visit to my old Ed Board adviser, Ms Mabel. If anyone can remember her, she was the teacher teaching English in form 5 and 6. It was clear that she was quite upset at the quality of students in the school. I don't blame her.

It seems like the Editorial Board has been invaded by the likes of the Headmaster. Previously, the Editorial Board held a fund to produce the school magazines. It costs RM40,000 every year to print 2000 magazines. Previously it was funded half by students paying the compulsory fee, and by the Ed Board members somehow miraculously coming up with RM20,000 from canvassing and the goodwill of people. Right now, the magazines are no longer compulsory for the student population while the Headmaster has turned the once high quality of the school magazine into a cut and past photo album.

As for the Ed Board facilities, with no budget, all the Macs in the room are all aged and not maintained. I remember every year we would get our Mags somewhere after Speech Day on October 21st. It was a tradition. Right now, with no Mag to look forward to, and ISA policy from the HM, another tradition is on the line. Only the current students will lose out.

I do have in my reach, the soft copies of the school magazines for about ten years back and probably further, but right now, given the condition in the alma mater, I cannot upload the soft copies. Still hot politics going on between the OFA and the HM.

I wait in patience for next HM to see his policy on tradition and vision.

Rev Robert Sparke Hutchings

Working in the EPF building during my summer holidays, I can't help but notice the small serene cemetery across the road. Here lies Reverend Hutchings, founder of Penang Free School.

Hutchings was one of the early pioneers in Penang. Not only was he credited with the inspiration to build the St George's Anglican Church that stands at the corner of Farquhar Street and Pitt Street, he contributed significantly to Penang's development from an educational perspective.

Penang Free School is his most lasting legacy. There's also Hutchings Primary School which bears his name and located right behind the Penang State Museum which used to be one of the early premises of the Penang Free School until it relocated permanently to Green Lane in 1928.

His final resting place at the old Protestant Cemetery (Opposite Upper Penang Road) in Northam Road reminds us of him. A hand drawn portrait of him hangs on the first spot by the entrance of the school hall. His name is also engraved on a wooden plaque, proudly decorating the wall of the school hall stage.

Penang Free School still maintains this tradition: on Founder's Day (the 21st of October), the school prefects would gather at his graveside in the morning to drink a toast to him. In 1966, on the sesqui-centenary anniversary of the school, a plaque was erected to remember him as the Founder of the Penang Free School.

According to some genealogy records on the Internet, Hutchings married Elvira Phipps in 1818 and had three children: Sarah Hutchings, Robert Sparke Hutchings and Elvira Hutchings, all born in Penang. The younger Robert Hutchings, also a member of the clergy, was named Vicar of several churches in England.

Thanks to ssquah.blogspot.com

The things kids bring to school nowadays

Well, bringing illegal items to school is actually kinda fun. Here's a student's perspective:

Teacher 12 o clock. Roger that, hide the loot. Evade evade.. Danger.. The bomb has been planted... Terrorists win... GG.

Well, here is how the list of illegal items have evolved over the years:

1980: Knives were probably banned
1990: Bringing cards to school to play aka. learning statistics
2000: Keeping cigarrettes in pockets
2002: Hand phones became popular, especially those monotone ones
2004: Hair gel to spike your hair
2005: Students caught sniffing glue, gets into sticky situation
2006: Some students caught with porn CDs
2007: Student brings granade shell to school!!
2009: Ganja is the bomb.
2020?
Who knows.